Tiger Woods is stepping away from golf “to seek treatment and focus on my health,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
The announcement came four days after Woods was charged with misdemeanor DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test stemming from a rollover crash in Jupiter, Florida. He entered a plea of not guilty earlier Tuesday.
“I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in today,” Woods said. “I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health. This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well being and work toward lasting recovery.
“I’m committed to taking the time needed to return in a healthier, stronger, and more focused place, both personally and professionally. I appreciate your understanding and support, and ask for privacy for my family, loved ones and myself at this time.”
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) March 31, 2026
Woods, 50, last competed on the PGA Tour in July 2024, when he missed the cut at the Open Championship. He last played four rounds in a PGA Tour event at the 2024 Masters.
“Tiger Woods is a legend of our sport whose impact extends far beyond his achievements on the course,” the PGA Tour said in statement. “But above all else, Tiger is a person, and our focus is on his health and well being. Tiger continues to have our full support as he takes this important step.”
Earlier Tuesday, the Martin County (Florida) Sheriff’s Department released an arrest affidavit that included details of Woods’ arrest last Friday near his home in Jupiter.
Woods told authorities that he was looking down at his cellphone and changing the radio station in his Range Rover SUV, which caused him not to see a truck hauling a trailer slowing down, according to the affidavit.
Martin County Sheriff’s deputy Tatiana Levenar wrote in an arrest affidavit that Woods was “sweating profusely” and his movement was “lethargic and slow” while she interviewed him. Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said Friday that the test of Woods’ breath didn’t show signs of alcohol. Woods refused to submit to a urinalysis or blood test for other drugs, according to the sheriff.
Woods’ SUV rolled over after it clipped the trailer, swerved and flipped on its side and slid down the road. The truck’s driver and another unidentified person helped Woods climb out of the passenger window of his SUV.
After Woods agreed to perform field sobriety exercises, Levenar said she observed him “limping and stumbling to the right.”
Woods told the deputy that he had had seven back surgeries and more than 20 operations on his right leg, which he had severely injured in a car wreck outside Los Angeles in February 2021.
“I asked Woods if he was able to perform tasks such as walking and lifting his leg, Woods advised he has a limp and his ankle seizes while walking,” Levenar wrote in the affidavit.
Because of his medical condition, Levenar told Woods to sit on the bumper of a police cruiser for the rest of the investigation.
Once Woods removed his sunglasses, Levenar noted that his eyes were “bloodshot and glassy” and his pupils were “extremely dilated.”
The deputy asked Woods if he had consumed any alcohol, and he replied: “None.”
When Levenar asked if Woods had taken any prescription medication, he stated: “I take a few.” Woods said he had taken prescription pills earlier in the morning, according to the report.
The names of the medications were redacted in the affidavit.
Another Martin County Sheriff’s deputy found two hydrocodone pills in Woods’ left pants pocket, according to the arrest affidavit. Hydrocodone was the drug found in Woods’ system when he was arrested on DUI charges in May 2017.
Levenar instructed Woods to do a series of four field sobriety tests.
“Based on my observations of Woods, how he performed the exercises and based on my training, knowledge, and experience, I believed that [Woods’] normal facilities were impaired, and he was unable to safely operate the motor vehicle,” Levenar wrote.
After Woods was arrested, he was transported to the Cleveland Clinic Martin South ER, but he refused all medical treatment. He was transported back to the Martin County Jail, where he was held until he was released on $1,000 bond later Friday night.
Attorney Douglas Duncan of West Palm Beach, Florida, submitted Woods’ not guilty plea Tuesday and demanded for a jury trial in Martin County. Woods also waived his arraignment hearing, which had been scheduled for April 23.
Duncan represented Woods in a 2017 case in which the golfer was arrested on suspicion of DUI after police officers found him asleep at the wheel in his running car, which had two flat tires and damage on the front and rear bumpers. Woods said he had taken a bad mix of painkillers.
In February 2021, Woods suffered significant leg injuries in a one-car crash outside of Los Angeles in which his SUV rolled several times and left him trapped inside. He later had surgery to deal with “open fractures” to his lower right leg, had a rod placed in a tibia and had screws and pins inserted in his foot and ankle during emergency surgery. Woods was hospitalized for three weeks following the surgery.
Woods’ vehicle had been traveling between 84 and 87 mph in an area with a 45 mph speed limit, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at the time.
While Woods hasn’t played on tour since the 2024 Open Championship, he did appear in the TGL finals last week for his Jupiter Links team, three days before the crash. He had remained mum on his playing status for next week’s Masters, only saying that he was working on it with hopes of competing but acknowledging his back injuries could prevent that from happening.
“Tiger Woods is one of the most influential figures the sports world has ever known,” PGA Tour CEO Brian Brian Rolapp said in a statement. “Over the last year, I have come to deeply appreciate Tiger not only for his impact on the game, but for his friendship and the perspective he has shared with me as I joined the golf industry. My thoughts are with him and his family as he takes this step, for which he has my full respect and support.”
